In My Kitchen – March 2016

As you might imagine, I don’t have a lot of new things in my kitchen this month. I do have one big thing new though – a Bradley Smoker. I’ve been perving on Steve Cylka’s website, The Black Peppercorn and he raved about his smoker. I’ve wanted one for ages but couldn’t justify the price.

Then there was my back problem that went wrongly diagnosed for years and I decided I needed a present for enduring all of that so I bought the smoker and made the most incredible pulled pork. I didn’t photograph it but I should have.

My son wrote a post for me a few years ago about smoking pork butts for pulled pork. He chastised me then for making bbq pork in a slow cooker because there’s no bark. I didn’t know what ‘bark’ was back then. It’s the crunchy outer layer that’s gone crunchy from the rub and mop sauce and tastes delightfully smoky.

I wouldn’t have entered my pork in a contest but for my first time, I was really pleased with it.

It’s Joan’s birthday today. She’s John’s mother and has advanced dementia but she loves cake so I made this carrot and apple cake with brown sugar cream cheese icing.

I was watching TV and I saw someone roast a whole pumpkin filled with partially cooked rice, sultanas, chopped dried apricots, spices, butter and honey. I had a pumpkin sitting on the counter and decided to give it a try. I had no recipe so I went by intuition. It was really good. If you slice it into wedges, it opens like a flower.

I’m sure there’s a name for this and a recipe so if you have one, let me know?

Finally, here’s a photo of Charlie when he was a puppy. He was great at cleaning windows.

If you’d like to be part of In My Kitchen, just write a post about what’s going on in your kitchen this month and publish before the 10th of the month – either leave a comment with your URL or email me at maureen at gmail.com.

Hi Mareen. I hope you are doing okay. Your pumpkin dish looks amazing. I watched Food Safari and saw an Armenian family make a dish called Ghapama http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/ghapama It looks similar to what youve made. Yummy!!!

Maureen, thank you for sharing this even though I know you are going through such a hard time. It is such a treat to see an insight into you r life. My thoughts are with you and your family. You have all my details – call me ANYTIME! I sleep with my iPhone! Give John a big hug from me too please. N x

Your smoked pork and stuffed pumpkin sound quite inspired. I’ve made stuffed pumpkin as a Thanksgiving side dish, using various fillings. I used stuffing that would normally go inside a turkey when we cooked the turkey on the outdoor grill so it wasn’t stuffed.

I am behind the smoker purchase! A smoked pork butt definitely must have the bark. We here in the South take our smoked meats seriously. I don’t have a smoker, yet. We do have a new grill though that give a great flavor when we use the woodchips with it. Your stuff pumpkin looks fantastic as does the cake. Take care of yourself and feel better soon. Here’s my post http://feedingmy3sons.com/2016/03/01/in-my-kitchen-march-2016/#more-3006

Happy Birthday to Joan! Love both pictures of Charlie — he’s doing a great job of keeping an eye on the smoker in the first one. Would love to have a smoker like that. We sometimes “smoke” in the oven, which gives us a little bit of bark. Just a little, though. And the slow cooker method just doesn’t give you any bark at all, Although I’ve come to really like that method. Anyway, fun post — thanks.

So glad you purchased the smoker, Maureen. You do deserve it! Your inspired pumpkin flower does seem to overflow with goodness. (Your intuition is strong!) And your mother-in-law’s cake….oh my goodness, since I can’t have a slice of yours this second, I want to run out a buy a slice of carrot cake at a local bakery =)

P.s. Relieved to be assured that I’m not delinquent if I post my In The Kitchen by 02 March 2016 (USA time.)

Hi Maureen! What a lovely cake – I always make myself a carrot cake (my own recipe) for my birthday. We have two smokers, but not nearly as nice as yours! Bark is essential to good smoked meat! Really good bbq is hard to come by even here in TN. I’ve make baked squash filled with sausage and mushrooms and other good stuff, but I’ve never done a pumpkin…think I need to add that to my list of to-dos!,

A zillion years ago there was a fantastic bbq place on Kingston Pike with the smoker out the back. It’s probably not there any more but just thinking about it makes me salivate. I also remember the old Tic-Toc on Magnolia Avenue. I had my first bbq sandwich with cole slaw on top there. 🙂

There’s nothing like pulled pork from a smoker. I have a smoker on my wish list … I’m starting to think my patience is due to be rewarded (finger tapping on desk). Really, that and cake? A tasty duo. Happy March!

I am curious about your smoker – sadly we don’t have room for one but I love smoked foods and would love to be able to smoke some myself. Luckily I would be able to try the pumpkin and it looks just so delicious, as does your cake. Hope your back is improving.

Good for you for getting the smoker…you deserve it! My husband would be quite excited to have one as well…so would I, as a matter of fact 🙂 The smoked pumpkin looks delicious and healthy and I can just imagine that pulled pork would be divine!
Here is the link to my IMK post, thanks so much for hosting!http://tableofcolors.com/2016/03/03/vegan-chocolate-pudding-cups/

Hi Maureen:)
I just had to pop by to tell you how much I have enjoyed visiting those who have posted for your In My Kitchen event. It really is fun to see and hear the goings on in everyone’s kitchen. (it reminds me of chatting over your neighbor’s fence, lol)

It seems I may have come at a bad time though, are you not feeling well?

Congrats on the smoker!!! You deserve it and I’m sure you will put it to good use:) As for that stuffed pumpkin, I’ve always wanted to try it but have never just did it! Kudos to you!

It is however, that brown sugar cream cheese icing that will be in my dreams this evening, oooo la la…

Feel better Maureen, and thanks for sharing and hosting this event. One day I hope to “play.”

What a fantastic idea with the pumpkin! I love the sound and look of that. Your birthday cake looks delicious too and I hope Joan could enjoy it. I’m also glad you could get the smoker as a present to yourself, given all the health challenges you’ve been navigating lately. Enjoy using it 🙂

I love the idea of that pumpkin! It looks so pretty served up like that too. That birthday cake looks delicious – I hope that my family bake me such delicious looking birthday treats when I get older. The smoker is such a great present – my husband would very much agree with you – I’m sure you’ll get lots of delicious use from it over winter too!

Such great pictures, my husband is on his 4th smoker I believe, they don’t last long in our climate and he uses it tons!! I hope you get lots of wonderful use from it creating great recipes. My favorite of Ken’s is his smoked chicken but his jalapeno poppers are to die for too!!

A Bradley Smoker! Be still my beating heart 🙂 My dad has one, and I would kill for one but the husband has gone a different route and bought a Komado instead. He is still trying to work out how to smoke in it. Although I will admit the pulled pork is amazing. I’ll be interested to see what you do with it.

oh that cake looks divine maureen. and that pumpkin is a treasure. have fun with your smoker. i am not keen on pork tho – something to do with it being the meat that is most like human flesh. maybe that is why everyone, even vegos like bacon! what a cute picture of charlie. what a sweetie he was and still is i’m sure.:) here is my link – http://sherryspickings.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/in-my-kitchen-march-2016.html

I completely missed the IMK this month?. Blogging has gotten away from me lately, I am just not motivated. Maybe once spring actually springs it will get me going. So for this month I will spend visiting kitchens.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll have to get in on the ‘In My Kitchen’ next month. Meanwhile, I hope you are making progress on your various issues– it takes a lot of investigation and work, doesn’t it? I’ve done the baked whole squash thing before, it looked beautiful until I tried to cut it, when it fell ingloriously apart. You seem to have had better luck with serving it!

Love the idea of my own smoker – I bet the pork was delicious….first time I haven’t posted as I feel like its a bit of the same with nothing new really in my kitchen although there is lots of activity with making passatta and pickling beetroots and chillis 🙂 take care, Jan x

I’m glad you have a new cooking toy. The smoked pork sounds very good! I have a smoker and haven’t tried pork in it yet. Your cake looked like it was a hit! Stuffed squashes get very popular here during the fall. Yum!